The government has finally launched a drive to stop the use of polythene bags permanently.
Although Bangladesh became the first country in the world to ban polythene bags, almost 22 years elapsed since the ban, but the use of polybags could not be stopped.
The government is now determined to stop the use of banned polythene shopping bags. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change along with its subordinate departments and agencies has taken the initiative to remove polybags completely from markets, shops and other places.
In an effort to curb the use of polythene shopping bags, a monitoring drive was conducted in the capital city of Dhaka on Friday. The ministry in association with the Department of Environment (DoE) conducted the drive.
A monitoring team inspected Mohammadpur Agricultural Market and several nearby supermarkets in the capital. Tapan Kumar Biswas, an additional secretary of the ministry led the monitoring team. Mohammad Rezaul Karim, a joint secretary of the ministry, Rubina Ferdousi, a deputy secretary of the ministry and some DoE directors and officials were with the team.
During the drive, members of the monitoring committee called upon the shop owners to use jute and cloth bags instead of polythene. Vendors were instructed to stop using polythene bags, with a warning that strict actions would be taken if polythene bags are found during future inspections.
apan Kumar Biswas informed the media that strict legal actions will be taken against polythene bag manufacturers from November 3 (tomorrow). Instructions have been issued to all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and DoE field officers to ensure enforcement of the ban on polythene bags.
On September 24, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the interim government’s adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; announced that from November 1, all types of plastic bags would be prohibited in the country, and no customer should be given such bags.
Earlier, from October 1, plastic bags were banned in supermarkets, and now this ban extends to fresh markets.
However, mobile courts were not operated on Friday (November 1) due to the weekend. Monitoring team began drive and it will continue also for today and the upcoming days, seeking public cooperation in checking polythene bag use.
Plastic bags were first banned in Bangladesh in 2002, but two decades passed, the ban had no impact due to lack of enforcement. As a result, the presence of non-biodegradable items was rampant across the country.
The ban was imposed on the manufacture, import, marketing, sale, stock, distribution and commercial use of all kinds of polythene shopping bags. The government is going to take action to implement the ban after almost 22 years.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that no polythene shopping bags and polypropylene bags can be kept and given to customers in markets and shops. As an alternative of polybag, jute and cloth bags will be placed.
“We are now going to implement the ban on plastic and polybags,” Syeda Rizwana Hasan told the Bangladesh Post.
Environmentalists and rights activists welcomed the action mood of the government against polybag use. “We welcome the current interim government for its stance against the use of plastic and polythene,” said Syed Mahbubul Alam, secretary of Center for Law and Policy Affairs-CLPA.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post on Friday, the public health and environment policy expert said that polybags are particularly noticeable components of the litter stream due to their size and can take a long time to fully break down. One of the major impacts of the plastic bags in Bangladesh is their impact on the storm water drainage system, he added.
Sharif Jamil, coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and member secretary of Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (Dhora); said that the previous governments were responsible for the rampant use of polybags in the country. “We believe that the current interim government will take stern action to shut down factories manufacturing polybags and plastic containers across the country and seize their machinery. At the same time, government will ensure feasible alternatives for the people available as it requires.,” he added.
The government imposed the ban on polybags on April 8 in 2002 through an amendment to ‘Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995’. As per the amended law, if anyone is found violating the ban he would face an imprisonment of 1-10 years, or a fine of Tk 50,000-10 lakh, or both.
he High Court in 2020 asked the authorities concerned to enforce the ban. The court also asked the authorities concerned to remove polybags completely from all restaurants and shopping malls, especially in coastal regions, by 2022.
The directive was issued following a writ petition jointly filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and 10 other environmental organisations.
BELA’s chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan has become adviser to the present interim government and she holds the charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. She had taken the decision just after a month of taking charge.
